CLEVELAND: College basketball has been waiting all season for a special team, one to step forward and announce itself as the one to beat.

Well, that team may have finally arrived.

It's Ohio State.

After two blowout wins to open the NCAA tournament, the top-seeded Buckeyes may have separated from the pack and served notice to the rest of the field that this might be their year to hoist the championship trophy.

Yesterday, they thrashed a George Mason squad that never knew what hit it with a dazzling display of offensive firepower and defensive resolve -- a 98-66 win that could have made worse.

Seeking its first national title since 1960, Ohio State advanced to play Kentucky (27-8) in the East regional semifinals Friday in Newark, New Jersey.